Sam Goodchild has become the highest-ranking British skipper in the Solitaire du Figaro since the race went one-design in 1991. Finishing leg 4 in 13th, the Shelterbox skipper finished the 1,938 mile race in 11th overall – an accumulated elapsed time of 10 days, 7 hours, 59 minutes and 42 seconds – two hours, 31 minutes and 19 seconds behind race winner Yann Elies.



”The best part of my race was also the hardest part, sailing down the south coast of England under the spinnaker in around 30-40knots of wind,” said Sam. “It’s always nice to sail through home waters, though it wasn’t very kind to us this time – the wind was relentless for about 12 hours. Leg 4 was definitely the toughest leg and really showed us how easy we had it over the first three legs. I am surprised at how much my performance has progressed since the 2012 race, I did not think that I’d do this well and setting a new top ranking British position is the icing on the cake really.”



Making his way into the dock shortly after Sam, Magma Structures skipper Nick Cherry finished the 520-mile Leg 4 in 16th in a time of 2 days, 10 hours, 48 minutes and 58 seconds. Nick’s consistently solid results in the teens over the four stages of the race tonight saw him finish 17th overall – an eight position improvement on his 2012 Solitaire result.



22-year old Artemis Offshore Academy sailor Jack Bouttell (left) crossed the Leg 4 finish line in 21st, putting him 21st in the overall rankings and first in the Solitaire du Figaro (first timer’s) Rookie division. In winning, Jack has become the first ever British skipper to stand on the top of the Rookie podium.



”It’s incredible to have won the Rookie category. I didn’t like to think about whether I could do it, but now I have it’s awesome – I’m really pleased. I’ve definitely exceeded my own expectations,” said an elated Jack. “The last night was definitely entertaining, 30-40 knots with the kite launching through the night with low visibility and lots of fog – it was pretty full on.”

CLICK HERE for the overall results.

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